The present invention relates generally to compression systems used in the application of a compression force to a patient's body. More particularly, the invention is directed to a removable wrap that encompasses a portion of the patient's body, for example, a patient's leg. The wrap includes at least one fluid-tight chamber allowing for the ingress and egress of a fluid. The ingress of a fluid into the fluid-tight chamber causes the fluid-tight chamber to expand thereby applying a compression force to the patient's body in the location of the wrap.
Compression wraps similar to the invention described herein have been in use for many years. The wraps are designed to encompass an area of the patient's body where a compression force is desired. Once in place, a fluid (either a gas or a liquid) is forced into a fluid-tight chamber of the wrap thereby expanding the fluid-tight chamber. The wraps are constructed such that as the fluid-tight chamber expands, a compression force is applied to the portion of the patient's body encompassed by the wrap. Such wraps are often used in the treatment and prevention of deep vein thrombosis, but may have other uses as well.
As mentioned above, compression wraps similar to the present invention are constructed to encompass a portion of a patient's body, and include at least one fluid-tight chamber. Prior to the present invention, such wraps were constructed of two or more layers of fluid-tight material. The layers were of generally the same size and shape and were sealed together about the entirety of their perimeters in order to form a fluid-tight chamber between the layers. If more than two layers were used, more than one fluid-tight chamber would be formed. For example a three layer wrap, when sealed, would form two fluid-tight chambers.
The fluid-tight chamber, or fluid-tight chambers of such wraps could then be subdivided into smaller fluid-tight chambers, or could have one or more pathways formed within them. Examples of different wraps exhibiting the aforementioned construction are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,211,104 issued to Edelman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,250 issued to Johnson, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,442,175 issued to Meyer et al., and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2008/0058911 filed on behalf of Parish et al.
Wraps of the aforementioned construction suffer from a number of shortcomings. For example, the material used to create the fluid-tight chambers is generally stiff (though not inflexible), and because that same material is used to create the entire wrap, the result is a wrap that is generally stiff and uncomfortable to wear. Additionally, because the material is fluid-tight, the material does not breathe, which can also be uncomfortable for the patient wearing the wrap. Another problem with the aforementioned wraps is that the fluid-tight material is expensive to manufacture. Because the foregoing wraps use the same fluid-tight material to form the entirety of the wrap, while also forming a fluid-tight chamber in only a portion of the wrap, that portion of the wrap that does not define the fluid-tight chamber needlessly utilizes two layers of expensive fluid-tight material where such material is neither needed nor desired.
As described in detail below, the present invention provides a unique solution to the aforementioned problems.